A+Summary+of+Using+Graphic+Novels,+Anime,++and+the+Internet+in+an+Urban+High+School

The writers of “Using Graphic Novels, Anime, and the Internet in an Urban High School”, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, both teach at Hoover High School in California. Their high school in one of the poorest areas of San Diego is most noted for its diversity. In a freshmen class of 32 students, 72 percent were English-language learners. In fact, only one was classified as a white and the average reading level was 5.4 on the Gates-MacGinitie assessment.

When faced with the challenge of finding a way for these students to succeed in literacy acquisition, the two teachers turned to popular culture. They had witnessed that many student were familiar with graphic novels. Students drew representations in the margins of their work or on the covers of assignment folders. The two adults decided to see if they could use this apparent interest in their favor. The major drawback of the idea was the school appropriateness of many of the materials available here in the United States. Anime and Manga, for example, are typically from the Japanese culture and what crosses the ocean is often too sexual or too violently graphic to present in front of a class.

Finally after much searching, Frey and Fisher came across the works of Will Eisner, a forerunner in graphic novels in the Western hemisphere. By utilizing Eisner’s //NewYork: The Big City// the teaching duo was able to tap into student interest not only because of the urban life topic, but also because of the short independent chapters. The class began with a think-aloud technique where they described the wordless panels and brainstormed ways to write about the pictures with descriptive vocabulary. Frey and Fisher were impressed when students correctly incorporated information from previous lessons such as using dialogue to move a story along.

Pleased with the results the two leaders forged ahead focusing on vocabulary. They wanted students to explore word option. By discussing the pictures aloud and then allowing students to write about the graphic novels seemed to be a success. They also used some donated paint sample cards from a local hardware store and discussed “shades of meaning.” This would be like using famished versus hungry. In addition, they steered students away from the word said and other common nondescript terms.

Students were really and truly writing! They were doing voluntary revisions and consulting dictionaries and thesauri. Timed writing samples bore evidence that mean sentence length was increasing. Another technique introduced was Triple Sentence Sessions, where students were given three ideas, not words, one at a time so students could piece them together in a variety of ways. In this way their skills and thought process vaulted upward as did their confidence.

The class climaxed in a final project where students had to write their own graphic novel. The teachers gave examples of illustrated stories they had created and the student process began. Rules were outlined including a minimum of 15 images and supporting text. Each student was given a disposable camera to use or they could pick illustrations from other media. Some even drew their own. Some students described in words their story line and an adult scribed it down just to help the student get their ideas down. Then peers and teachers alike edited and aided in revising multiple drafts.

How did it turn out? Beautifully, all 32 students excelled with a plethora of ideas and stories inspired from a variety of places. Using pop culture as a generator for student writing had phenomenal results in this urban freshmen course.